Ullambana

dorje

This month (Lunar 7th month, which started from 31st July), according to Mahayana Buddhism, the Buddha Sakyamuni spoke the Ullambana Sutra, a discourse on filial piety, to Mahamaudgalyayana.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ullambana_Sutra

I think this is important because we easily forget we owe our parents our lives. Without them we would never be here discussing and practising Buddhism, and sharing our experiences in the first place. We can never repay the kindness our parents has given us, being patient and loving us even when we act stupidly and retaliate against them. We can never pacify the pain and suffering of our mother having to carry us in her womb for nine months, enduring the pain for childbirth, selflessly providing for us before herself, sometimes going hungry herself. We can never repay our fathers, who brought the bacon home, who pampered us while we were young, who taught us so many things about life we only realize it when we become adults ourselves.

This month, take the time to reflect on how much they have sacrificed for us, and how little we have given back to them, and what we can do to reduce the suffering in their lives.

http://www.cttbusa.org/ullambana/ullambana.asp

Happy observing Ullambana, everyone. Even if you don't believe the Buddha taught this sutra, it's beneficial to think of your parents and how much they sacrificed for us.

Talisman

:thumbup:

johnathan

Could this go a step farther? Should we not think of everyone (rebirth speaking)as our mother or our father? Should we take time to contemplate how everyone in existence has at some point done this for us at another point in our own existence? How we owe our lives to every other life whether it currently touches our own in a perceivable manor. This may be a time for reflection of passing metta to all beings, friend, enemy, or those we are indifferent to.

Perhaps I'm way off the mark here but thought I'd throw it out there and see what others thought.

Talisman

That's nice @johnathan

dorje

Sure we can take it a step further. I think it's necessary to take things further. However we need to have to do our groundwork first before taking it so far. Start with our parents, the our family, then our friends, our enemies, our acquaintances, and finally everyone on the street.

NOTaGangsta

Could this go a step farther? Should we not think of everyone (rebirth speaking)as our mother or our father? Should we take time to contemplate how everyone in existence has at some point done this for us at another point in our own existence? How we owe our lives to every other life whether it currently touches our own in a perceivable manor. This may be a time for reflection of passing metta to all beings, friend, enemy, or those we are indifferent to.

Perhaps I'm way off the mark here but thought I'd throw it out there and see what others thought.

Our parents first, because most of us already owe so much to them.